tales_of_athlinfandomcom-20200214-history
The Dwarven Empire of Kol-Sharak
The Dwarven Kingdom of Kol-Sharak a typical dwarven kingdom with very conservative veiws par very few things with some of the strongest foot soldiers in the realm and the best crafted metal items obtainable on the map. not only that the dwarves are the only supplier of Mythril; light as leather and stronger than steel however it is increadibly rare in most places making it expensive. Also dwarves never ally with elves they are the opposite to dwarves and are to be conned in trade and beaten in battle the first chance you get, dont trust an elf! (mainly due to many wars over the dwarf ethic of all wood for the forges and the elf tree hugging society) Pre Gunpowder Dwarven Military The dwarven army is based on a simple formation tactic utilised by most dwarven commanders where Pikes took the front 4 ranks deep in a line sometimes a u or v shape depending on circumstance to protect from charges then it was 2 lines of medium infantry wearing heavy armour and equipped with a shield and melee weapon normally an axe,mace or short sword and then at the rear and sometimes in between the 2 lines of medium infantry a line of quarallers which are light infantry armed with corssbows and 2H axes for shock troop tactics. Heres the troops in more detail in terms of armour and weapons. The Pikedwarfs: Armed with a pike 3x the size of a standard dwarf it is used for bracing charges and sciltrom and square formations and nomrally designed to obsorb a charge from cavalry and infantry alike, they are some of the heaviest armoured to protect them from ranged weapons and just in case they are also supplied a hand axe. Equipment: (all iron or steel) 3 metre pike Hand axe Doubled up chainmail with full plate armour rucksack for rations and small cleaning utensils Dwarf warriors: The medium infantry for the 2 sets of lines behind the pikes normally making up 4 ranks per line, they are the more mobile troops for all round combat and are like all other dwarf units are very good tank units as they normally carry a large shield covering most of their body and a melee weapon; normally a mace, short sword or axe and are used to flank and support or hold off enemy lines. Equipment: (all iron,steel or bronze depending on recruitment location) Mace, Short sword and Axe round shield Chainmail with lamellar coat of diamond shaped flat plates or solid cuirrass with partial plate on shoulders, knees, shins and fore-arm and a helmet with faceguard rucksack with various cleaning utensils and a small hammer for repairs Dwarf Quarrallers: a militarised from of dwarven rangers normally in charge of keeping the mountain ranges safe and clearing out underground caverns were speed and survival skills are neccessary they are the lightest armed but are still formidable warriors able to act as shock troops while also being marksdwarfs armed with crossbows and quarrals to harrass an enemy into a offensive for the main formation to stay as its strongest form on the defence and form one of the only ranged units as bows are to big for a dwarf to use and a crossbow is much easier to use and can be modified to shoot faster and with stronger force. Equipment:(leather and bronze, iron or steel) 2H axe Quarrels Leather and chainmail armour Mechanical metal crossbow Dwarven Longbeards: The longbeards are the elites of the dwarves and must have a beard reach the floor before they are even considered and even then they must be able to lift 1.5 tons of lead and hold it for at least 30 minutes and have a tally of 40 kills and a large beast kill normally a deep cavernous creature normally know for their abnormal size and qualities. they are large and broad dwarves aswell as very strong and skilled in battle prowess but rarely move out of the mountain holmes to battle outside as their main task is to protect the mountain holmes and take this literally as in they will do nothing else other than have drinking contests and fake battles and brawls aswell as hunt underground beasts. Equipment: mastercrafted heavy chainmail, mastercrafted lammellar cuirass, mastercrafted full plate and master crafted chain leggings and all decorated with gold banding for decoration A large doubled up and heavily decorated shield with the house symbol of the longbeard on it Personnal choice weapon with a Hammer with spike a small keg of sextuple strength beer Post Gunpowder Dwarven Military A military with gunpowder in its army (firearms cannons etc) The quarrallers will turn into Dwarven Handgunners as heavily armoured as a Dwarf warrior however they are mainly armed with a handgun and sidearm axe and postioned at the front in a battle and when the enemy gets within a certain distance volley's are unleashed until the enemy approach too close, at which point they retreat behind the pikes and will continue fire if they can see the enemy mainly aiming for enemies on horseback. Dwarven guns are harder to make and more expensive than human guns however they are more accurate and have a longer range Cannons: The dwarf mortar: the dwarven equivelent of the mortar which can fire explosive rounds however these are hard to make and generally volatile so only expierianced mortar crews are supplied with them, also the explosive rounds take much longer to load and are innacurate. the mortar is good for firing over terrain but is not as long distance as the straight firing cannon or as good for a moving enemy but is still deadly effective and expeically prized for taking on human forts and castles due to its ability to go over the walls. normally 5 to 7 inches in diameter The straight firing cannon: The dwarven straight firing cannon is the classical gun design to fire a big rock or metal ball at speed in a straight line/arc and has longer range than a mortar but explosive round is not used with it as sometimes much to a crews horror the cannon fires and the explosive slides out and lands 1 foot in fornt og the gun and explodes normally maiming the crew and destroying the gun. the straight firing gun is much more accurate as it doesnt have the cannonball soar to a high height and be moved around by strong wind but can t get over cover very well so the best place for a cannon is a hill. the dwarves use 6 pounder guns and 12 pounder guns and can load standard round and grape shot Organ gun: the pinacle of dwarf engineering it is a fairly rare contraption and is very time consuming and hard to make however it is worth every second. it has 6 barrels which can be loaded with grapeshot and cannonball and are fired one after the other in quick succesion nomrally known as the cannon volley it causes fear and desperation in the faint hearted and normal men and is purposly innacurate to cause maximum spread. it is recommended to have about 3 of these in an army which wants them to have a fully effective volley and in fact the gun carriage it sits on needs to be made of steel to take the strain of these guns firing. certain human kingdoms have requested these guns as none of the humans have anything quite like it but the price tag is high and normally only kings can get a hold of these Dwarven colonisation The dwarves will be constantly colonising mountain regions for the dwarven empire however this is pretty much all good for the dwarves as it spreads their domain and resource pool it can mean several things for the local human populace. Dwarven trade: various dwarven trade goods of high quality and gems will be traded especially if its a starting outpost it will trade for goods like beer and food for high prices normally giving offerings to the leader of the trade caravans Dwarven protection: although the dwarves will be looking out for themselves the various monsters of the land and in general hostile human bandits or dwarf bandits will be dealt with in the area and not only that the dwarves only tend to consider alliances to those nearby including military based ones. before we colonise we can ask any nearby settlements and their owners permission to set up an outpost whcih will eventually become a dwarven fortress however rejecting doesnt allways mean well stay away.... all colonies start out with 50,000 and grow from there, they are considered fully fledged when they reach a population of 250,000 in which population only increases capacity but until then the dwarven military will be purely defensive only dealing with local brigands and defending the fortress. 10% of the population of a colony is military dedicated for the protection of the fort from various things like invasions from above and below and dealing with any bandits but are not proffessional in comparison to kol-sharak troops and are also considered lightly equipped normally only armed with bronze armour and leather. once fully fledged 5% will be a defensive militia and the other 5% will be a proffessional soldier base constantly training and well equipped but in times of desperation this can increase in exchange for lower production. Dwarven trade and goods Trade is normally handled by the broker of each fortress which goes on set orders from the king himself or a approved associate as trade is very important for the dwarves as dwarven armour, materials and Gems are in high demand by the humans however the elves have very loose trade due to the dwarven style of economy of mass deforrestation for the great forges. dwarves normally trade for things like silk and fabric aswell as vital mechanisms, metals and food and alchohol if its a starting out fortress however most dwarven trades end up with the dwarves having masses of gold for a small amount of master crafted items and crafts normally of metal origin and tend to horde gold so when the time comes the dwarves can buy emergency food, alchohol and other items from other strongholds or races. The dwarven fortresses are each their own nation in a sense but are bord erless with other fortresses only in times of war are the fortresses not autonomous however matters of trade and wealth are all autonomous and seperate between fortresses in that if a fortress needs food it needs to trade in equal return however this may seem as detrimental to fortresses it allows a fortress to try and become self sufficient and grow and not only that the fortresses have much influence on what the next trade convoy may bring in comparison to other races which will only get loose promises with most things Dwarves will trade with other races mainly humans normally trading in the good armours for the size of the human in general however it normally costs quite a bit purposly to get more coin from humans however lax in price is shown to allies and freinds of the dwarves aswell as gifts of crafted items of high worth. Dwarve's and alchohol Dwarves are not affected by alchohol in a bad way in fact theyre concentration and skill is improved when having a swig of dwarven beer, ale or mead (or wine for the women dwarfs) after a dwarf has some beer he gets a step in his walk and goes into a form of martial trance were a dwarf is in tranquility and happiness aswell as not being able to feel anything boosting morale and toughness of any dwarf and you are not considered a true dwarf unless you can take a swig of sextuple strength beer otherwise you are considered a fat gnome a high and large offense in dwarf culture and normally assciated with a beating by the insulted normally resulting in death or a trip to the hospital or its actually a fat gnome in which its exiled. Dwarven Dieties (The Dwarven pantheon) Heavily diffrent from human dieties, dwarven dieties are based on the mountains which protects them as well as the beer they drink and the metal they craft. Grugni: The ancient god of the forge, crafting and mining, he is seen as the wisest of the three and he and his symbols are normally the ones carved into armour and weapons of the dwarfs to "bless" them with the powers of Grugni. Grimnir: the god of warfare and fanatacism, he is seen as using two axes and using mithril armour the armour of the Gods and is said to have slain many foes going into the 1000's to have become a diety and immortal, it is said he roams and lives high in the mountains until the dwarf race is in danger of extinction. Valaya: The god of love, growth and magic, she is in charge of the continuation of the dwarves ensuring bountiful crops and dwarven children to continue the dwarves struggle as well as protecting the dwarves from evil magic from the sky and far underneath were forgotten creatures dwell of unimanigable nature. (these gods are taken from warhammer fantasy and modified slightly if your wondering) Dwarven Cities Kol-Sharak: The capitol of the dwarves in Athlin this is were the high king resides and also were the highest population of dwarves can be found along with the palace and the Royal longbeards barracks the high kings personnal guard unlike other races the dwarves have multiple kings one for each fortress (dwarven city) however all are ruled over and under the High king which allways resides in the capitol and is king of all dwarves in the area or region or the continent depending on the high king. Kol-Sharak has the highest number of forges and even makes use of a local dorment volcano for the magma making only steel require coal as the magma is used for fuel for the forges however as steel production is the highest on the priority list which makes Kol-Sharak consume some of the most coal amongst the fortresses population: 824,000 Tarrin: ' ' The smallest of the three fortresses more of a mine and outpost than the others however is not to be underestimated as its the furthest south and the hardest to get to distance wise so an invading force will still have to reach it making attrition a problem. it has a basic government set up and has not yet reached the status needed for it to have a king and so currently only has a Duke. for a fortress to get a king to allow way more options for a fortress it needs to export a large amounts of wealth and prove its worth and before that it has to go through stages (Baron to Count to Duke to King) Population: 527,000 Karak Norn: ' ' The second biggest so far it was formed shortly after kol-sharak and is also very important as it has a very close metal production to kol-sharak aswell as a large population second only to kol-sharak, it is the pioneer city in steam and mechanical technology and reasearch however steam power is not seen as very viable option yet unless you have magma which is only practical for kol-sharak based near a pocket of magma. the only other fortress with a king allowing it various rights and controls. population 752,000 all of this info is taken from warhammer, third age and various bits of info from diffrent smaller lore's and games like dwarf fortress and changed slightly to accomodate the rp and the situation. so if you see something similar or the same to a lore you know then it probably is the same. Karak-Vorn: ('''colony) ''' Karak-Vorn is a dwarf settlement based in the only mountain range containing Mithril the metal of myth's and legends which is claimed to be arrow proof. it has just started out (look at colonisation page) and currently only has a population of 57,000 but is growing quickly due to the rich metal deposits and the great quest for mithril which is sure to make anyone rich. its population has been taken away from Kol-Sharak as its very close and has the population to spare but the population dent has been filled since with migrants and in general population growth. it is only considered a Barony at the current time population: 57,000